The double life of Alfred Bloggs

原文

These days, people who do manual work often receive far more money than people who work in offices. People who work in offices are frequently referred to as "white-collar workers' for the simple reason that they usually wear a collar and tie to go to work. Such is human nature, that a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of becoming white-collar workers. This can give rise to curious situations, as it did in the case of Alfred Bloggs who worked as a dustman for the Ellesmere Corporation.

When he got married, Alf was too embarrassed to say anything to his wife about his job. He simply told her that he worked for the Corporation. Every morning, he left home dressed in a smart black suit. He then changed into overalls and spent the next eight hours as a dustman. Before returning home at night. He took a shower and changed back into his suit. Alf did this for over two years and his fellow dustmen kept his secret Alf's wife has never discovered that she married a dustman and she never will, for Alf has just found another job. He will soon be working in an office. He will be earning only half as much as he used to, but he feels that his rise in status is well worth the loss of money. From now on, he will wear a suit all day and others will call him 'Mr. Bloggs', not 'Alf'.

译文

这些日子，从事体力劳动的人往往比办公室工作者挣得多。办公室工作者通常被称为“白领工人”，因为他们上班时通常穿着有衣领的衬衫并系着领带。(*注：白领工人指从事非体力劳动的办公室职员。*)人性使然，许多人常常愿意为了成为白领工人的荣幸而牺牲更高的薪水。这可能会导致一些有趣的情况，正如阿尔弗雷德·布洛格斯所经历的那样，他为埃尔斯米尔公司当清洁工。

当他结婚时，阿尔夫太尴尬了，不愿向妻子提起他的工作。他只是告诉她，他在公司工作。每天早上，他穿着整洁的黑色西装离开家。然后，他换上工作服，花接下来的八小时当清洁工。晚上回家前，他洗个澡，换回西装。阿尔夫这样做了两年多，他的同事们保守了他的秘密。阿尔夫的妻子从未发现她嫁给了一个清洁工，而且她永远不会发现，因为阿尔夫刚刚找到另一份工作。他很快就会在办公室工作。他将只赚到以前的一半，但 él觉得他的社会地位的提升值得这个金钱上的损失。从今以后，他将整天穿着西装，而且别人会称他为“布洛格斯先生”，而非“阿尔夫”。

词汇表

manual

形容词, 名词

英:/ˈmæn.ju.əl/

美:/ˈmæn.ju.əl/

定义

1. 体力的，手动的 - Relating to physical work done by hand, especially in contrast to mental or office work.

例子: Manual labor is often physically demanding.

例子: He prefers manual jobs over desk work.

2. 手册 - A book of instructions.

例子: The manual explains how to assemble the furniture.

例子: I always refer to the user manual for troubleshooting.

近义词

physical: 强调身体方面的活动，与 'manual' 类似，但更侧重于身体运动而非工具使用。

hands-on: 更口语化，常用于描述实际操作，与 'manual' 相比，更强调参与和实践。

laborious: 暗示工作辛苦，与 'manual' 不同之处在于强调努力程度而非手工性质。

反义词:

mental, automated, intellectual

用法

常用于描述需要体力劳动的工作，常搭配如 'manual work' 或 'manual labor'，在职业语境中常见，文化背景中反映了对蓝领工作的认知。

形式:

复数（作为名词）: manuals, 副词形式: manually

关键句型 "Such is [noun], that [clause]."

定义

此句型是一种强调句型，通常用于表达某种情况或特质的普遍性或强烈程度。结构为：Such is（如此的是）+ [noun]（名词，如 human nature）+ that（以至于）+ [clause]（从句）。根据《剑桥英语语法指南》，这种句型源于英语的倒装结构，用于突出主语，增强情感或强调效果。它类似于强调句，但通过倒装使句子更正式和修辞化。例如，在文章中，“Such is human nature, that a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay...” 强调了人类本性的普遍性。

这个句型常用于正式写作或演讲中，帮助学习者表达深刻见解。

用法

此句型主要用于描述事物的本质或结果，强调一种因果关系或不可避免的后果。规则：在句子开头使用 Such is 后跟名词，然后用 that 引导结果从句。这种结构在语法体系中属于倒装句型的一部分，常与强调句或条件句相关联。

横向比较：与普通句子如 “Human nature is such that...” 相比，此句型通过倒装（将 is 置于主语前）使语气更加强烈和正式，类似于其他倒装结构如 “Here comes the bus.” 与条件句的倒装（如 “Had I known...”) 不同，它不涉及假设，而是直接强调事实。同时，与简单比较句型不同，它不直接比较两件事物，而是突出一个特质的极端性。

跨语法联系：它涉及名词和从句的结合，学生可以联系到其他强调结构如 “It is [adjective] that...” 或倒装句在诗歌和文学中的使用，从而建立更广泛的语法网络。

注意事项

学生常犯的错误包括：错误使用倒装，导致句子不自然，如直接说 “Such human nature is, that...” 而非正确形式；或遗漏 that，使句子变得模糊。纠正建议：记住 Such is [noun], that 的固定顺序，并练习在正式语境中使用。另一个常见偏误是过度使用此句型，使文章显得生硬；建议仅在需要强调时应用。

例如：

错误示例：Such human nature that people sacrifice pay.
正确示例：Such is human nature, that people often sacrifice higher pay for status.

学生还可能混淆与类似句型，如 “So is [noun], that...” 的区别，后者更强调程度而非本质。

练习

原创例子：假设在讨论工作压力时，你可以说：“Such is modern life, that many people work overtime just to meet deadlines.” 学生可以替换 [noun] 为 “the pressure of exams” 并创建自己的 [clause]，如 “Such is the pressure of exams, that students often stay up late studying.” 这能帮助他们在日常对话或写作中应用，例如在作文中描述社会现象。

通过替换关键词，学生可以探索不同场景，如环境问题：“Such is climate change, that we must act now to protect the planet.” 这种练习鼓励创造性和实际运用。

额外内容

背景知识：此句型起源于古英语和莎士比亚时代文学，常用于正式或文学性表达，如在诗歌中增强节奏。对比分析：在中文中，这类似于 “如此……以至于……” 的表达，但英语通过语法倒装实现强调，而中文依赖词汇。相比法语的类似结构（如倒装句），英语版本更简洁，有助于初学者过渡到高级表达。学习此句型还能丰富学生的写作技巧，例如在辩论中用它来加强论点，连接到更广泛的修辞知识。